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Vladimir Petrovski
|name = Vladimir Petrovski Владимир Петровски |image = Macedonian general 2.jpg |imagesize = 200px |caption = Petrovski in 2013 |order = 5th President of Macedonia |term_start = 30 April 2016 |term_end = |primeminister = Dimitar Mitkov |viceprimeminister = Boris Tasevski Kiril Denisov |predecessor = |successor = |subcommanders = |birth_date = 19 September 1967 |birth_place = , |death_date = |death_place = |nationality = n |constituency = |party = Macedonian National Movement |spouse = |children = |residence = |almamater = |profession = Military officer |religion = |allegiance = Republic of Macedonia |branch = Army of the Republic of Macedonia |serviceyears = 1985 - present |rank = }} Vladimir Petrovski ( : Владимир Петровски, born 19 September 1967, Skopje) is a general, former head of the Joint Operations Command on the Army of the Republic of Macedonia General Staff, and, since April 2016, President of Macedonia. Biography Early life and service (1967-2001) Vladimir Petrovski was born on 19 September 1967 in , then part of the . He had two brothers, one of whom went on to become an official of the . Petrovski attended a military school in Skopje, graduating in 1985 with excellent marks, and then the in , which he finished in 1990 and was commissioned as a . Petrovski trained as an artillery officer in the , and spent his final year as a JNA officer commanding an artillery platoon at a base in the . Following the independence referendum in 1991 that resulted in the declaration of independence of the Republic of Macedonia, Petrovski joined the Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM). He was given the position of a battalion commander, which he held until 1994, and then became the deputy chief of staff of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade. His superiors at the time noted that Petrovski was an intelligent and resourceful officer, and he was recommended for promotions. Petrovski became a in 1998 (at which point he was given command of the Wolves Special Forces Battalion) and a in 2000. Later service (2001-2016) When the broke out in Macedonia, an uprising by the Albanian terrorist group , Petrovski was posted in Skopje. The Wolves Battalion first took part in the war during , in which they helped storm Albanian positions in the , with Petrovski directing them from a field headquarters. The operation was called off after several hours by orders of President , but the ARM managed to retake large territories from the NLA. They also took part in the Battle for in June-August 2001. Petrovski disagreed with the decision to sign the -brokered , wanting to continue fighting, and would resent NATO for intervening in the conflict and, in his view, prevent the ARM from achieving total victory. He nonetheless worked with NATO troops to disarm the insurgents after the signing. Petrovski commanded the Wolves Battalion until 2002, when he was promoted to and first began attending the in Skopje. He graduated in 2004 with a position in the operations directorate of the ARM General Staff, being promoted to . In 2007 he became the deputy head of the directorate, a post which held for two years. Petrovski was reassigned in 2009 to the foreign cooperation directorate, serving as the military attache in until 2012, and in the from that year to 2015. He was given one of the highest posts on the General Staff, chief of the Joint Operations Command (responsible for managing Macedonian ground and air forces, and for cooperation with international bodies). President of Macedonia (2016-present) When unrest began in Macedonia in 2014, following the , which the claimed to have been rigged, Petrovski remained neutral. He had formed a clique in the General Staff that was anti-NATO and anti- , instead wanting to strengthen cooperation with , , and other nations. Since both the opposition and the ruling party were pro-West, Petrovski did not personally support either of them. Protests began in 2015 when Zaev published a document alleging that the government listened to telephone conversations of twenty thousand citizens. The EU and the brokered an agreement that temporarily solved the crisis. Then next year, however, President pardoned a number of politicians that were under investigation for the wiretapping. Mass protests occurred across the country for two weeks, and in late April Petrovski and his faction decided it was a good opportunity to make their move. Military career : *Commander of an artillery platoon (1990-1991) : *Commander of an artillery battalion (1991-1994) *Deputy chief of staff of 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade (1994-1998) *Commander of the "Wolves" Battalion (1998-2002) *General Staff officer (2002-2007) *Deputy head of the operations directorate (2007-2009) *Military attache in (2009-2012) *Military attache in the (2012-2015) *Head of Joint Operations Command (2015-2016) Personal life Petrovski is unmarried. Along with his native Macedonian, he speaks fluent , , and . Category:People Category:Macedonia